


I Want My Brother Back

by Laureesa



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Brotherly Affection, Brotherly Angst, Brotherly Bonding, Damian Wayne Feels, Damian Wayne Has Feelings, Damian Wayne Needs a Hug, Damian Wayne is Robin, Damian Wayne is So Done, Dick Grayson Feels, Dick Grayson Needs a Hug, Dick Grayson is Bad at Feelings, Dick Grayson is Batman, Fluff and Angst, Good Sibling Damian Wayne, Sad Damian Wayne, Sad Dick Grayson
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-22
Updated: 2020-06-22
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:13:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,593
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24858184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Laureesa/pseuds/Laureesa
Summary: Ever since Grayson took up the cowl, he's changed and Damian doesn't like it. He's going to get his brother back.Or...Dick is being particularly gloomy after becoming Batman and Damian wants to help him, he just doesn't know how.
Relationships: Dick Grayson & Damian Wayne
Comments: 9
Kudos: 171





	I Want My Brother Back

**Author's Note:**

> This was written to show some of my friends my writing style. I haven't written in a long time, so I apologise if it isn't good.
> 
> I hope you enjoy it!

Being Batman is new to Dick Grayson, he isn’t used to it, he never wanted to take the cowl, no one did. It changed people, it changed they way you think, it dims the light of even the brightest people. So, as Damian watched his brother put on the cowl every night, he scowled. He knew the only reason that Grayson was wearing it was because of him.

If Damian was older, could take care of himself better, was more trustworthy. Grayson wouldn’t have to be Batman, and his brother wouldn’t be slowly becoming more and more reserved. He was drawing into himself, the otherworldly glow he seemed to always have was fading.  
It was his fault and no one could tell Damian otherwise.

He decided to try and make things easier for Grayson, so he could stress less and try to become more like himself again, he didn’t like how reserved Grayson was becoming. Something would have to change, he would help his brother at all costs.

Damian owed everything to Grayson, he was the only one (excluding Pennyworth) that had treated him as human when he had arrived at the manor. Sure, at first Grayson had bothered him, he’d always try to smother Damian in unwanted affection. Always jumping out and hugging him, calling him those insipid pet names. Greeting Damian with a, “What’s up, Dami?” Or a “Hey, Little D!” It was awful. He told himself that he would never accept Grayson’s coddling, that he would never find comfort in something so- foolish.

But, eventually he had.

He had grown used to the nicknames that Grayson has assigned him, it began to feel unusual hearing his full name fall from those lips, it was often only used when he was in trouble now. He had grown used to the surprise hugs that came from around the manor, where Grayson would hide in corners or darker rooms and just latch onto Damian as he passed. He loathed to say that he had even started enjoying his time with Grayson.

This is why the current situation disturbed Damian, why it bothered him, the Grayson he is with now is not the Grayson that Damian had come to know and even love.

Damian planned to fix that.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

They were currently out on Patrol, Damian donning his full Robin attire and Grayson wearing the cowl once again.

There were a few major villains who had escaped from Arkham Asylum, Two-Face and the Joker among them. Grayson- No, Batman had ordered Robin to stick close and not to engage with any tough opponents. Of course, to Robin, none of them were tough opponents.

As they approached the docks, they saw Two-Face. Batman crouched in front of Robin and turned to face him.

“Okay, Two-face is a tough opponent, Robin. I will engage him directly while you provide support from the shadows. Understood?” Grayson was a stern mask of no emotions, so unlike him, so unlike Nightwing. Nevertheless, his orders upset Robin.

“What?! That’s preposterous, why do I have to stay back? I can help, Batman. Why won’t you let me?” Damian didn’t understand, once again, Grayson was pushing him away. Like he didn’t trust himself to be taking care of Robin in this way, despite the fact that they patrolled together many times when Grayson was Nightwing.

Batman stood, then scowled and growled down at him, “that’s an order, Robin. You are not to join the fight”. He then ended the conversation by launching himself at Two-Face, leaving Damian no choice but to obey his orders.

He growled and began running around the darker areas of the docks, throwing batarangs and shock pellets towards Two-Face. He observed carefully as they fought, taking note of each time that Batman stumbled, or Two-Face got too close for Robin’s comfort. He wasn’t going to let anything happen to Batman, to Grayson. That was a Robin’s job, to protect Batman, and this Robin took his job very seriously.

Robin fought with each of the lackeys that tried to interfere with Batman’s fight, taking them out with ease. No one was going to interrupt or distract his mentor, it could lead to injury if Grayson lost focus.

As he was looking around, Robin noticed another group of lackeys directly behind Batman, he was still dealing with the current group, so he had no choice but to warn his brother.

“Batman! There are more behind you!” Robin called, trying to dispose of the scum he was fighting more quickly so he could help his mentor.

He watched as Batman turned and began fighting off the plebeians that had disrupted him as well as Two-Face and became hasty, he had to finish the battle quickly in order to assist Grayson.

He turned punching more scum away from him, becoming more and more reckless with each move in desperation to help his mentor. He roundhouse kicked someone behind him who appeared to be closer than he thought they were and stumbled backwards, one of his opponents landed a well-placed hit to his temple and sent him off his feet and to the ground. He grunted as he landed, disorientated.

“Robin! Are you okay?!” He heard Grayson yell, his Batman façade cracked for a few seconds, overflowing with concern for his young protégé. Robin stood up, grunting in reply, and began pummelling his enemies once again.

He’d distracted Grayson even more with concerns for his health, he really couldn’t do anything right. A larger flunky came at him readying himself to swing, Robin shifted his weight to accommodate for the height change and promptly hissed in pain.

Shit, he’d hurt his ankle during his earlier fall.

He dove to the side, dodging the heavy blow and took the bulky man out with a kick to the head. With the last man down, he swiftly made his way over to get the lackeys off of his brother, so that he may take care of Two-Face.

“Do you need assistance, Batman?” He questioned, while slowly moving the crowd of enemies further away from his mentor.

“No, I’m fine, Robin. Are you?”

He tilted his head in question, why wouldn’t he be alright?

“Tt, of course I am. Why wouldn’t I be?” Robin scowled, insulted at the mere thought that he had shown weakness, he had caused Grayson unnecessary concern.

Batman dodged a hit from Two-Face and grunted as he landed a heavy hit to his middle and glanced towards Robin. “You took a hit earlier, it literally sent you rolling across the floor”, Grayson frowned as he said it.

“That was nothing, I am fine. Focus on Two-Face, Batman.” Damian was getting more and more irritated, there was no end to this scum! And if he kept it up for much longer, Grayson would realise that something was wrong.

Damian’s heart leapt into his throat as he saw his brother fall and Two-Face tower over him, he grunted as he took a heavy hit to his stomach, feeling a rib or two crack under the unexpected pressure. He needed to focus, he believed in Grayson, in his brother. He knows that he can handle himself, so he needs to believe that and focus on the swarm of flunkies that he’s fighting.

Damian rolls out of the way of a hit, sweeping many people’s legs out from under them as he goes, wanting to end this as quickly as possible. His leg throbbed heavily with every movement, he was beginning to think he may have a minor break in his ankle.

From the corner of his eye, he saw Batman knock down Two-Face and begin a barrage of offensive attacks, he smirked and began doing the same, he was sick of being on the defensive.

Damian lashed out viciously, knocking enemies down left and right, making much quicker work of the scum that he had spent entirely too much time on. He knocked down the last of the group and promptly made his way over to his brother.

“Da- I mean, Robin! I told you not to engage him directly!” Grayson cried.

“You appeared as if you could use some help,” Damian scowled. He wanted this battle to be over with, so that they may continue on their patrol. The sooner they finished, the sooner they would get home, and the sooner he could check his injuries. The sooner he could fix, Grayson.

Batman growled, perfectly expressing his displeasure at being disobeyed.

They continued to fight off Two-Face and it seemed as if everything would be fine, but then Damian’s ankle gave a rather vicious throb, which caused him to stumble.

“Robin!” Batman gasped, jumping forward to try and pull his protégé away from Two-Face, but it was too late, Two-Face took his chance and kicked Damian. Hard. Damian coughed as Two-Face’s foot connected with his injured ribs and sent him flying through the air. He flew backwards, further and further across the floor until he hit the end of the docks and was swallowed by the inky, black ocean below.

He could have sworn he heard Grayson call his name, but he couldn’t remember what he was doing now, couldn’t remember how he had gotten here.

He just wanted to sleep.

As he slowly closed his eyes, the last thing he saw was a hand reaching for him, before he surrendered to the comforting pull of unconsciousness.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Damian groaned as he clawed his way back to consciousness, he opened his eyes to slits, flinching at the bright light that assaulted them, before closing them again. He hissed in pain as the familiar throbbing of his body caught up with him.

“Damian?” A voice beside him questioned, Grayson, his mind supplied.

“Grayson?” He mumbled, voice rough. He blinked his eyes open again, looking beside him to see a weary looking Grayson.

“Damian, thank god. You scared me.”

Damian’s brows furrowed, he slowly sat up (with Grayson’s help, that he refused to admit he needed) and turned towards his brother. He looked tired and tense, a tendril of guilt curled in Damian’s stomach, knowing he was the one to cause his brother to feel this way.

“I am fine, Grayson. There is no need to worry.” Damian scoffed, frustrated that he managed to worry Grayson more when he was trying to reassure him.

Grayson let out an angry growl and stood up abruptly. He whirled towards Damian and glared. He glared at Damian.

“Don’t you dare give me that crap,” Grayson seethed. But, Grayson wasn’t Grayson right now, he was Batman. The very thing Damian had been trying to avoid, trying to change, was happening again right in front of him.

He didn’t mean to make Grayson upset, he was trying to do the opposite. He wanted Grayson’s stupid smiles and laughter, the affectionate nicknames he would call him (which Damian had grown to love), his suffocating affection (which had become some of the only times that Damian felt safe), he wanted it all back.

He wanted Grayson back.

He wanted his brother back.

Grayson continued to pace and yell out his frustrations at Damian, frustrations that had clearly been building for quite a while, frustrations that Damian didn’t know weren’t fully directed at him. Of course, Grayson had other things to do besides just dealing with Damian, he ran W.E. and he dealt with Drake and Todd. He had to deal with constant complaints from inferior employees and put up with imbecilic reporters.

Grayson had many things that could have frustrated him, but Damian was the person he was with currently, and Damian was the one being yelled at. Grayson was a kind person, he loved making people happy, he had never once yelled at Damian like this before.

Damian sat there listening to his brother’s harsh words, harsh words from the only person in the world whose opinion he cared about, and it hurt.

Damian’s eyes felt wet, his throat tight, his shoulders were shaking with the sobs and whimpers that he was trying to hold in. His brother was disappointed in him, he had failed at making him happy.

Damian squeezed his eyes shut, trying to hold in his sobs as he sat there listening to Grayson. But, to his horror, his sobs clawed their way out of his throat. He began crying with a vengeance, his hands came up to cover his eyes as he curled into himself.

He heard a gasp behind him and a scared voice, “Dami? Oh, no. Dami, I’m so sorry, please don’t cry”. He felt his brother’s arms wrap around him as he was pulled into his lap, he was being rocked methodically, a hand carding through his hair.

Eventually, after what felt like hours of crying, Damian began to calm down.

“I’m so sorry, Dami. I didn’t mean any of it, I promise. None of that was directed at you, I got mad and started taking everything out on you. I’m so sorry”. Grayson whispered, not stopping his comforting movements.

“I am sorry too, Grayson. I have failed in my mission to help you,” Damian despaired.

Grayson tilted his head to the side, “What are you talking about, Dami? What mission?”

“It is Robin’s job to protect Batman, to make sure he is always okay.”

Grayson stiffed, which meant Damian had said something wrong. He took a breath, readying himself to speak, but Damian interrupted him.

“I was told by Drake, that the job of Robin, is too keep Batman from becoming too dark. The job of a Robin is to keep Batman happy. Ever since you have taken up the cowl, you have become sadder, colder and even more stressed, you barely sleep. You’re never happy, Grayson. You haven’t been acting like yourself, the cowl has made you act more and more like father.”

Grayson inhaled sharply, “Dami-“ he started, but he was once again interrupted by Damian.

“I have seen the difference in your behaviour every day and I deemed it unacceptable, so I decided that I would change it. I wanted you to go back to your cheerful self, as I despised the way you began acting and began treating me. You became distant, you stopped calling me those insipid nicknames, stopped showing the affection that you insisted I learn to express. You just completely stopped being yourself.”

Damian was panting when he’d finally finished speaking, Grayson was gaping at him, looking both proud and so very guilty.  
“Damian, I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to make you feel like you had to do that. I don’t want you to feel pressured to take care of me. You’re my little brother, it’s my job to take care of you.”

Damian sighed, Grayson wasn’t getting it, which means he would have to say it directly. Damian loathed admitting his feelings, and he’d already been very emotional today. Damn, Grayson is lucky that he loves him.

“Grayson, I didn’t feel pressured to take care of you. I just-“ Damian took a deep breath, “I just wanted my brother back, Richard. You’re back now, that is all I wished for.”

Richard smiled with teary eyes, “Yeah, I’m back, Dami. I promise I won’t leave again.”

Damian allowed himself a small smile as he relaxed into his brother, slowly falling asleep to the rhythmic beat of his heart. His brother was back, maybe he hadn’t screwed up after all, if Grayson was here, then Damian knew everything would be fine. With that final thought, feeling safer than he had in months, Damian fell into a deep sleep.


End file.
